2013

February 18, 2013

A new theatre series sponsored by the LSUS Department of Communications is set for initial production on February 21-24. Black Box Workshop Productions will present two one-act plays in a setting that will allow for experimental staging as well as the presentation of shows seldom available to the public.

Directed by LSUS alumnus Don McCoy, the February productions will feature William Inge's People in the Wind and a seldom-performed Tennessee Williams play, Adam and Eve on a Ferry.

The Inge production, featuring eight actors in a mid-twentieth century bus station, is one of the inspirations behind the longer production, Bus Stop.Trapped by a snowstorm west of Kansas City, five passengers interact with three local residents when they pull into a diner to wait out the storm.

The cast includes Cara Derrick as Grace and Delia Caldwell as Elma, waitresses working a lonely midnight shift.A young girl, played by Brittany Matthews, upset by advances made by a male passenger Bo (Nick Sewell) rushes into the diner followed by Cory Olson in the role of the "drunk."Rounding out the cast are Kimi McVay as Clara, and Sandy McCoy Gaudin making her stage debut as Myrtle, and Nash Crow as the bus driver, Bud.

The second play, Adam and Eve on a Ferry, written by Tennessee Williams in 1929, was not performed until 2004.The play has just three characters: novelist D.H. Lawrence, his wife Frieda, and Ariadne Peabody, a visitor to the Lawrence home in need of unusual advice.Ariadne, played by veteran local actor Audra Caitlyn Moss, is a retiring, spinsterish woman who cannot remember the name of a man who may have propositioned her aboard a ferry; a man she agreed to meet.Nor can she remember where they are to meet.D. H. Lawrence is played by Joshua Porter and his wife, Freida, by Kimi McVay.

Like most Tennessee Williams works, Adam and Eve on a Ferry deals with issues of sexual tension. Thus the juxtaposition of a repressed woman seeking help from a novelist vilified during his lifetime for his focus on sexual themes is both tribute and farce.

After the Sunday after performance, anyone interested in any aspect of theatre, from acting to directing to technical support, is welcome to stay for a "Q&A Workshop" with everyone involved in the production.There is no additional charge.Anyone is welcome whether they were able to attend the show.

Seating is limited and reservations are encouraged.General box office is $10 per ticket; LSUS students are admitted free with valid ID ten minutes before curtain as seats are available.

For information ticket and reservation information, contact Dr. Linda Webster in the LSUS Department of Communications at linda.webster@lsus.edu. Or 318-797-5376.